This blog is dedicated to the sublime instruments called nose flutes and which produce the most divine sound ever. We have chosen to discard all the native models from S. Pacific and Asia, for they need fingering to be played. We'll concentrate on "buccal cavity driven" nose flutes : the well patented and trademarked metal or plastic ones, plus, by a condemnable indulgence, some wooden craft or home-made productions.

Jan 15, 2014

Adjustable nose flute

Shuenping Chiou (YW), our friend from Taïwan who likes to invent and build special nose flutes, has produced a « range adjustable nose flute ». On this purpose, he coupled a nose flute and a big syringe, forming a slide nose whistle.

The principle is to allow a modification of the size of the resonance cavity 'by default' (increasing more or less the air volume of your mouth). So, with the same mouth opening, you would get different notes, depending on how you set the slide).

Here is the test video:

This idea was patented by Joseph Goldstein in 1926, but we don't know if the model was manufactured.

Also, Maikel Mei had tried a such a device, but a bit more complex, grafting a slide and a recorder to a nose flute.

2 comments:

This modified nose flute has a great "pipey" and reedy sound as if a proper flute. That is the effect I have always been after, in order to give the nose flute more depth, resonance, character and credit.Is this simply the Humanatone-style nose flute with its mouth rest wings cut off, stuck into a soft plastic tube? How astonishing the change in character, particularly in the lows! This way it has become much more of a significant instrument, probably even far easier to play. Great job!

In addition to to that, the visual impact of the instrument is so much better, looking so much more "professional". I am looking forward to see this concept taken much further, resulting in a perfected instrument. I am visualizing a bigger-bodied, more substantial instrument to hold and behold, with the visual presence and appeal of a Chinese mouth organ, harmonica, double reed flute or clarinet.